Ludhiana (Punjab): Flipping through files filled to the gunwales of certificates, Ramandeep Kaur's expressions don't waver like any other athlete, who might have prided in showing off awards if they belonged to Commonwealth Championships. Contrarily, for polio-hit Ramandeep Kaur, who hails from Ghorewahi village, near Bhogpur, winning two gold in the Commonwealth Powerlifting and Benchpress Championship still wasn't enough to make a lifestyle change she must have imagined at some point.
The 33-year-old sew clothes to make ends meet. Her two gold medals won in September 2017 in South Africa has become a source of entertainment for her kids to play. Tired of approaching various ministers and higher-ups of her state to avail a job, Kaur took it upon herself to scrape through the day and earn something to take care of her family.
"There is no minister or higher official left to whom I haven't reached out to. When I realised that nothing was being done, I took it upon myself and started working," she tells ETV Bharat. Kaur hasn't been able to fetch a job despite promises by the state government. "When Captain Amarinder Singh was in power, he did ask the then sports minister Rana Gurmeet Sodhi the reason behind this, but it still couldn't land a job for me," she further adds.
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Despite her handicap, Ramandeep has been contesting in regular championships (not for para powerlifters) and winning medals. Having recently won a gold in Dubai, Kaur still harbours hope of availing a job with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at the helm of affairs even as she dreams of fulfilling her dream of making her two daughters play wrestling at the highest level.
"I hope that Aam Aadmi Party government will hold our hands otherwise people will lose faith in sports," Kaur signs off.
